Six Scottish hotels at risk as group employing 410 people plunged into administration

Salutation Hotel, Perth, which has operated since the 17th Century, is one of the hotels affected. PIC: CC/Aaron Bradley | CC/Aaron Bradley

A Scottish hotel business that operates a group of eight hotels including one of the country’s oldest and most historic has plunged into administration.

Strathmore Hotels has its head office in East Kilbride and runs Perth’s famous Salutation Hotel, which has roots as a coaching inn stretching back to 1699.

The company also owns and operates the Alexandra Hotel in Fort William, the Ben Nevis Hotel & Country Club in Fort William, the Ben Wyvis Hotel in Strathpeffer, the Nethybridge Hotel near Aviemore, the Royal Hotel in Oban, the Cairn Hotel in Harrogate and the Cumbria Grand Hotel in the Lake District.

Alistair McAlinden and James Dewar from Interpath have now been appointed joint administrators of the business.

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They said the company had been under sustained creditor pressure for a number of months, resulting in it being subject to a winding up petition in July. The administrators will now take steps to “assess and review options for the business moving forward”.

All eight of the hotels will continue to trade while the administrators review the options available to them, while the company’s 410 employees will be retained to support them.

McAlinden said: “The hospitality sector has faced a number of significant challenges in recent years, including rising operating costs, inflationary pressures, workforce shortages and changing consumer spending patterns. Unfortunately, Strathmore Hotels has not been immune to these headwinds and has also experienced sustained financial difficulties, resulting in the appointment of the joint administrators.

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“Our immediate priority is to ensure continuity across the business,” he added. “We recognise that this news may be concerning for employees, customers and suppliers. However, we would like to reassure all stakeholders that it is very much business as usual across the portfolio, and we encourage guests to continue visiting the hotels as normal while we explore the best possible outcome for the business.”

The Salutation Hotel’s current listed structure dates back to around 1810. Prior to that, on December 31 1745, a belated 25th birthday party for Bonnie Prince Charlie was held at the hotel. The building’s facade features distinctive painted Black Watch figures.

A report last month revealed that Scotland’s hoteliers had enjoyed a solid spring thanks to decent weather and a series of bank holidays but ongoing cost pressures were said to “mark a challenging road ahead”.

RSM UK’s latest hotel tracker showed that Scottish hotel occupancy rose from an average of 82.8 per cent in May 2025 to 83.7 per cent this May. The result was better than the UK-wide average, which nudged up from 79.4 per cent to 79.7 per cent.

Katie Morrison, partner and head of consumer markets at RSM in Scotland, said: “Even with the price of oil dropping, there remains much uncertainty about how and when this will reduce the energy cost burden faced by the hotel sector. Paired with additional cost increases due to changes to national insurance and minimum wage, Scottish hotels may face further pressure to hike room rates to absorb additional costs, especially during periods of high demand, such as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.”